1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with improved, adjustable eyeglass nose pad assemblies allowing a user to precisely adjust the nose-engaging pads thereof to achieve proper fit and maximum comfort. More particularly, it is concerned with such nose pad assemblies, as well as complete eyeglasses and multiple-part eyewear assemblies, wherein the nose pad assemblies are selectively adjustable and also detachable from the associated eyeglasses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Eyeglasses must be carefully fitted to a wearer's face, in order to be comfortable over long wearing times and to provide the proper degree of eyesight correction. There are many adjustments and measurements that must be made to accommodate an eyeglass prescription for a wearer, including frame width, pupil separation, temple length, pantoscopic angle, and the shape and size of the nose pad assembly. Eyeglasses are supported on the wearer's face by resting on the bridge of the wearer's nose, and by the temples which rest upon the wearer's ears. Because most of the weight of the glasses is in the lenses, it follows that the majority of the weight rests upon the wearer's nose. In the case of eyeglasses having glass lenses with high magnification prescriptions, this weight can be considerable.
A variety of nose pad assemblies have been provided in the past to distribute the weight of eyeglasses. In the case of plastic rimmed glasses, a nose pad assembly is also integrally molded with the frame, being positioned near the juncture of the eyewires. A major drawback of these designs is that, once manufactured, the frame cannot be customized to a particular wearer's nose. Therefore, in order to provide a wide variety of frames, and to be able to accommodate different nose shapes and sizes, an optometrist must stock a large number of frames. In practice, each frame size and style has its own nose pad assembly, and the user is faced with little opportunity for customization. As a result, many sizes and styles of eyeglasses may be uncomfortable for many wearers.
It is also known to provide nose pad assemblies that are attached to the eyeglass frame with an attachment that permits slight manipulations. For example, the standard nose pad assemblies on wire frame glasses includes disk-like pads attached through a swivel to a metal wire which is welded to the eyewires. The swivel adjusts to a small degree, and also the metal wire may be carefully bent and shaped for accommodation purposes. A drawback of these designs is that the metal wire is fragile and may become bent or broken. Additionally, adjustment is difficult and requires special tools and expertise. Finally, these nose pads tend to concentrate the weight of the glasses on two localized regions on either side of the nose, which may cause irritation over time.
Attempts have also been made in the past to provide nose pad assemblies with greater degrees of adjustment, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,520,636, 4,783,163, and 4,787,729. It has also been suggested to provide nose pad assemblies which are detachable from eyeglass frames, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,704,015, 5,291,230, and 6,056,399.